28 June 2011

today it was announced on NME that Slough band Brother - who the NME, like the Vaccines before them, has supported massively, making you wonder if there's something in it for them beyond just "music journalism" - has had to change their name from "Brother" to "Viva Brother". according to this NME article, the band was served a writ at a show in San Francisco by a Celtic band of the same name.

there seems to be a massive, massive hatred for this band. I don't know where all this vitriol is coming from. granted, I'm generally look at every one of NME's picks with a jaundiced eye. take for example the band Mona. my guess is that the cockiness of Brother did the same thing cockiness did for Mona - it acted as self-made hype when no one else would have given it to them.

how many of these people who purportedly hate the band (some close friends - ?!?), want to beat them up, etc. have actually heard the band play live? (their debut album doesn't come out until 2 August so it's not like you really have that much to go on at this point.) I'm going to see Brother in late July when they're here in DC and see if they're any good. I won't pass judgment until I see them play all their material. Mona is quite good live, but I'm sure there are people who won't even have a listen to their stuff b/c there is so much backlash against them in the media.

23 June 2011

*note: there was no Roundtable this week b/c Lammo is at Glasto (obviously) and you couldn't pay me to listen to who's standing in for him *cough*Andrew Collins*cough* so that's why there is no Roundtable for the week of 19/06. just an FYI.

so last week when I was seeing Noah and the Whale - who BTW had an absolutely blinding performance at the 9:30, I couldn't believe I was seeing the same band! - a girl next to us was asking how I got my photo passes, complaining that staff had confiscated her DSLR and that they were being mean. I held my tongue firmly in cheek and didn't say (though I was perfectly in my right to), "I work hard for them." instead I explained that I ran my own music blog. then she started saying some things that probably common sayings among young people, but I was just appalled.

she was saying that on a journal Web site that shalt not be named she could get free albums from other people and that's where she got almost all her music.

you don't want to know what was going through my mind after that. you don't want to know. really.

I'll say now that I don't *mind* that much if you're trading with your mates your favourites to share music, b/c that's where we get good music tips, your best mates. but very rarely. I don't even do this, even though the number I have is insane (both digital and physical) and there's a legitimate reason why I have these. I don't really buy music anymore, b/c when I want to hear something, I ask for a review copy and review it. that way I've given back to the band somehow.

I think young people don't realise what all this illegal downloading is doing to music. I have this discussion with many of my friends' bands, bands that are not at the level of U2, Coldplay, or whoever else, who depend on album sales maybe not for the actual cash but for survival with their label.

while I can relate to young people being skint - I never got a regular allowance myself - it's called saving up. I didn't have enough money of my own to buy my own albums until I was 10. I suppose theoretically, as long as you're old enough to see the computer screen and click on things with the mouse, you could get whatever you wanted, couldn't you?

and I never stole any music as a kid either. the Web makes it far too easy, unfortunately. I used to say my purpose of being a blogger was to get people to gigs in Washington. but now maybe it is a crusade to get people to realise that the music you're stealing is someone else's baby, the product of their blood, sweat, and tears. how would you like it if someone just walked into your house and took something that belonged to you? and spread it around the world?

1. Kaiser Chiefs - 'Little Shocks' - it's interesting the reaction to this new one from a band that's known for laddish, shouty rock. I rather like it, even if it doesn't have the immediacy of 'Never Miss a Beat'.

2. the Goodnatured - 'Skeleton' - despite this panel's slating of it, I love this record. I think the problem is...they're all blokes. they don't get what this is. yes, it's suggestive, but that's the point. yet Cheryl Cole, Katy Perry or Gaga can get away with it and you're telling Sarah McIntosh can't? there's always been a bit of subversiveness with Sarah and she's not going to change. "what you see is what you get."

4. Milk Maid - 'Not Me' - this is like surf pop on drugs. the guitars don't do a thing for me, they're too slow.

5. Tame Impala - 'Solitude is Bliss' - I've never been a fan of psychedelia, so when there's a new band trying to do that sound, I have to ask myself, is this any better than what's come before? I'm sorry, this isn't. oh god, go away.

6. the King Blues - 'I Want You' - this is kind of funny. isn't this band supposed to be political? this sounds like something anyone could have written. ummm...? it's ok. I don't hate it. it's just not ringing any bells for me, that's all.

this charming girl

for the thinking music enthusiast. and making up for being born on the wrong side of the Atlantic. I live for music. I am Editor-in-Chief / owner of influential UK/US music Web site There Goes the Fear. I used to write for some others (UK print/online culture magazine This is Fake DIY, UK online magazine Click Music, and the American blog PopWreckoning). I play bass and write songs and poetry in my spare time. check out the 'publications' tag for more info on what I've written.
I went to Roskilde in 2010 as an official blogger and have since covered SXSW (2012, 2013), Liverpool Sound City (2012, 2013), the Great Escape (2012, 2013), and ARIA Week in Sydney (2012).
more handy info is available on my Web site.